Article-packaging apparatus



June l2, 1956 J. D. CONTI ARTICLE-PACKAGING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Original F'iled Oct. 16. 1951 JOHN D CONT/ M A TTONEY.

June 12, 1955 J. D. coNTl ARTICLE-PACKAGING APPARATUS Original FiledOct.

INVENTOR. JOHN D. CONT/ ATTORN Y.

June 12, 1956 .1. D. CONTI ARTICLE-PACKAGING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Original Filed Out. 16, 1951 mi hak Alillllnl June 12, 1956 J, D, CON-nARTICLE-PACKAGING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet, 4

Original Filed Oct. 16, 1951 INVENTOR. JOHN D. CONTI June 12, 1956 J.mwN-r1 2,749,692

ARTICLE-PACKAGING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 16, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet5 JNVENTOR. d0 HN D. CONTI 2,749,692 Patented June l2, 1956 nceARTICLE-PACKAGING APPARATUS John D. Conti, Elkins Park, Pa., assignor toAmerican Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation ofDelaware Original application October 16, 1951, Serial No. 251,511.Divided and this application November 8, 1951, Serial No. 255,485

6 Claims. (Cl. 53--234) This application relates to an apparatus forwrapping packages and is particularly concerned with an automatic andhigh-speed system for wrapping a booklet with a package to which itrelates, such as a folded leaflet or pamphlet providing instructions fordealing with the contents of the package. This application is a divisionof application Serial No. 251,511, filed October 16, 1951 and nowabandoned.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-speedautomatic system for wrapping packages, particularly those of the typehereinabove mentioned, in an efiicient mannen Other objects andadvantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawing and thedescription thereof hereinafter.

In the drawing, which is illustrative of the invention,

Figure 1 is an overall plan view with certain of the driving connectionsomitted,

Figure 2 is a side elevation,

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the right half of Figure l,

Figure 3a is an enlarged view of a portion of the turret,

Figure 4 is an end view and partial cross-section taken along line lV-lVof Figure 2,

Figure 5 is an elevation view of the pamphlet feeding system looking inthe direction of the arrow V (Fig. l),

Fifure 6 is a section of a detail on line VI-VI of Figure 3a,

Figure 7 is an enlarged plan view of the left half of Figure l, partlysectioned,

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the portion of the mechanism shown inFigure 7,

Figure 9 is an end elevation with a portion in section taken on linelX-lX of Figure 8,

Figure 10 is a general view showing driving connections.

Figure ll is an enlarged perspective, partly sectioned, showing detailsof the end feeding and wrapping structure,

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the side sealingstructure,

Figure 13 is a view of Figure l2 seen at XIII-Xlil, and

Figure 14 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at XIV-XIV in Figure13.

In the embodiment of the invention hereinbelow described, it isspecifically provided with means for associating a pamphlet with abottle, vial, or other package so that the leaflet is wrappedsimultaneously with the bottle or the like in a common outside wrapper.However, it is to be understood that the invention may be employed forwrapping the bottle or other article alone in which case the means forintroducing the leaflet may be omitted.

While the cross-section of the bottle `shown is round, slightmodifications may be made to wrap bottles or packages of othercross-sections, such as square, rectangular,

oblong, and the like. Any suitable heat-sealing wrapping material may beused, such as films or sheets of a rubber hydrochloride or otherderivative, sheets of thermoplastic resins, regenerated cellulose orpaper base sheets provided with suitable heat-sealing coatings whichmay, if desired, be moistureproof coatings, such as regeneratedcellulose films or paper carrying coatings of a thermoplastic resin,such as polyethylene, saran, or rubber hydrochloride, such heat-sealingcoatings being anchored to the base sheet, if desired, by anintermediate coating or subcoating of ureaformaldehyde ormelamine-formaldehyde resins.

In general, the invention comprises means for delivering the article tobe wrapped into proximity to a rotating turret comprising a plurality ofcircumferentially-spaced recesses for receiving the wrapper and article,means for feeding a strip of wrapping material between the article andthe turret, means for pushing the article against the wrapper intoholding means on the turret at the receiving station. When a pamphlet orleaflet is to be associated with the article, it is fed into proximitywith the article on the side thereof opposite to that adjacent thewrapper sheet and the pamphlet is pushed with the article and thewrapper into the holding means of the turret at the article-receivingstation. The turret receiving the article and wrapper rotates on itsaxis and during such rotation, the side flaps are overlapped tocompletely enclose or embrace the lateral periphery or surface of thearticle with or without the pamphlet thereagainst. After thus beingembraced, the overlapped areas are pressed with a heated shoe to effectsealing along the side of the article. This sealing may be continuousthroughout the entire length of the overlapped areas or it may belimited to only one or several portions of such overlapped areas as willappear hereinafter. After the wrapper has thus been sealed at the side,the turret rotates to a discharging station in proximity to a conveyingsystem for feeding the articles between devices for folding the ends,that is, the top and bottom ends in the case of an upright article, andthen to sealing means for applying heat and pressure to the foldedportions at the ends of the article.

Article conveying or feeding means Means is provided for delivering orfeeding the articles to the receiving station of the rotary turret. Thisfeeding means comprises belts 3 and 4. The lower reach of belt 3 engagesthe top of the article such as the bottle B and the upper reach of thelower belt 4 engages the bottom of bottle B. The belts 3 and 4 proceedabout pulleys at their ends, such as pulley 6. One of the pulleysassociated with each belt is driven either continuously or inintermittent steps by driving means which will be described hereinafterand which may comprise any conventional driving means.

Pamphlet feedng means When pamphlets P are to be associated with thearticles B, they are fed by means of rollers 7 and 8 into engagementwith a pair of belts 9 which run side by side about pulleys 10 and 11and may have a plurality of outer projections 12 spaced apart at lea-stthe distance, and preferably greater than the distance, occupied by thepamphlet as it reaches the belts 9. The pulleys 10 and 11 arespool-shaped as indicated in Figure 5 to provide a space 13 betweentheir reaches. Pulleys 10 and 11 are mounted on shafts 14 and 15respectively, and one of them, such as 15, may be driven continuously orin intermittent steps as will be described hereinbelow. The rollers 7and 8 are grooved as at 16 and 17 respectively and fixed guide bars 18and 19 are disposed so that they extend partially into the grooves 16and 17 and serve to guide the foldedpamphlet from the feed rolls 7 and 3into thenp-between belts-9 and idler roll-20. A guiding plate 21provided with a pair of grooves 22 to receive the projections 12 servesto guide the pamphlets as the projections onthe belts-9 push them to thebottles B adjacent theturret-receivingstation. `An-idler-:roll'23deflects the belts 9 into.a path which extends-*substantially parallelto the direction of travel of belts 3 and 4 lcarrying the bottles ABso-thatthe-pamphlet is brought into engagement withone surface of thebottle with which it is to be wrapped asit approaches the receivingstation of the wrapping turret.

Wrapper feed A continuous sheet of wrapping material W may be fed from asupply 24 (Fig. 4) consisting of a wound roll `thereof mountedrotatablyon a shaft 25. Thewrapper arranged to cooperate with a stationary. blade29, both being disposed between the feed rolls 26, 27 and the turret.The rolls 26- and 27 may be driven continuously or in intermittentsteps, as desired, by anyconvent'ional mechanism such as describedhereinbelow and the reciprocating knife may be driven by continuousdriving means or-intermittently as will b e described hereinbelow.

Turret feeder A,Between the opposite reaches of the two belts 9, thereis disposed `a reciprocable plunger 30, the ,plunger rod 31 attached towhich is slidably mounted in a'stationary sleeve within a solenoid 32stationarily mounted on a suitable frame.k The outer face of the plunger30 may be, shaped ina contour, such as thearcuate contour shown at 33,which is complementary to thatl of the article being wrapped, in thiscase the bottlel.` .The plunger 30 is normally. urged into the positionshown by means of a spring 34 which bears against yone end ofthe casingof the solenoid 32 and one face of a collar 35 xed on the rod 31. Itwill be noted (see Fig. 4) that the plunger 30 and rod.31 are narrowenough to t inthe space 13 between the two belts 9 so that it may bereciprocated through such space without interfering with the belts.

Rotating turret 'The rotating turret is driven continuously orpreferably intermittently about or on a xed shaft 38 and comprises twoparallel plates 39 and 40 driven rotatably about the fixed shaft 38 (seeFig. 4). Each of the plates is'provided with a plurality of radial slots41.* "Within the way or recess thus provided, a piston 42 is slidablymounted. The pistonhas apiston rod 43which extends through a bore 44 ina portion 4S of a stationary-'block' 46. The main `part of block 46extends below the plate 40 and is secured thereto in ixed position. Theportion 45 of block 4 6; projects `upwardly throughthe slot-i1; of plate.40. A pair of gripping or holding lugs 47 (Fig. 3a) are4 pivotallymounted Ion pins-,48 extending between the plates-39 and -40 on eachside of the slots-4l therein. The outer ends of the lugs'47 are roundeds0 that thebottle orY article being pushed into the slots 41 may. swingthe lugs aside by cam action. At .an intermediate portion of:the lug,there is a curved surface 49 which is complementary to .the surface ofthe bottle or other article and is. adapted to grip theV periphery ofsuch article and hold it in position. Leafsprings 50 urge the lugs,intothe. position shown in Figure l wherein a. portionk of theouter endsthereof` projects into slots 51 in the opposite sides ofthe piston .'42so,.thatthe piston is relatively slidable with respect thereto.,Thelugs47 havepins SZextending from the hubs thereof. Pins 52 engagedetent pins 53 secured swing of the lugs toward each other.

There is disposed between plates 39 and 40 and on either side of therecess therein provided by the slots 41 a pair of arms 54 and 55 whichare pivo'tally mounted on pins 56 and 57 respectively which extendthrough suitable bores inthe plates' 3.9Y and 40 and project beyond theplate 40 to positions where they .arefixedvrigidly to arms S8 and S9respectively. .-ArmsSSand 59 vare provided with opposed cam surfaces 60and 61 which bear upon a roller 62 mounted on a stub shaft 63 secured ina rod 64 which is slidably mounted in the -bore65 ofthe--stationaryfguide block 46. YThe'rollers62 rideon cam 66.*Which isxed stationarily, such as on the shaft 38. The outer endsv of arms 54and 55 areslotted as at 67'and the slots receive cross pins 68 which arefastened at their ends in the side plates or lugs 69 which extendinwardly from the outer wrapper folding plate 70. The folder plates 70are curved to the circular contour of the outer periphery of plates 39and 40 and they slide over such peripheries in response to the action ofthe cam 66. As .shown in Figure 6, one or two .springsl 71 may beprovided on either side of the lever 55 and connected to the pin 68 for.urging the pin 68 lradially inward thereby holding thefolding plate 7i)against the periphery of plates 39 and 40.

A spring 72 is provided between theadjacent arms 55 and 54 of adjacentstations of the turret. These springs serve tov urge plates 70 into theposition shown at .the

.article-receiving station of the turret where they arecompletely'retracted toleave the slots 41 opento receive a bottle B.

lThe turret is rotated either intermittently or continuously, preferablythe former, vby means and in a manner which may compriseconventional-elements, such as described hereinbelow. Figures l-and 3show a turret comprising eight stations,V one being disposedopposite-the plunger 30 so that it is adapted to receive one of thearticles, such as bottle B, when the plunger30 is actuated. Thus,plunger 30 pushes a bottle B and pamphlet P against the piston 42 whichis thereby depressed .into the position shown in the next station in aclockwise direction from the receiving station. As the bottle B ispushed into this position, the, lugs 47. are momentarily pushed asideuntil the maximum diameter of the bottle haspassed the outer curved endsof the lugs, after which springs 50 urge the lugsY into the grippingengagement shown in the vsecond station (see especially Fig. 3a). Inthis position, the wrapper has been brought aroundthe .pamphlet Pand theouter ends of lugs 47 press the wrapper against the opposite lateralextremities of the pamphlet and. these in turn against the bottle.Furthermore, during the. movement of the turret from the receivingstation to the second station referred to, follower roll 62 is forced upon the rise 66a of cam 66. The roll 62 engages cam surfaces 60 and 61which are differently contoured so that the folding plate 70 carried onarm 54 is caused to engage the wrapper first and to lay one edge of thewrapper at 73 against the pamphlet P, after which the sh0`e'70associated with lever 55 lays the other edge 74 around the first edge(Fig. 3a).

Side sealing means The turret then rotates the-package having theoverlapped -wrapper edges -73 and 74 into-proximity with the sidesealing assembly` atthe third station. At this station, a stationarysupport 75 carries a reciprocable heating shoe or element 76. Thiselement 76, which may be heated in any way desired, such asby anelectric heating coil, is rigidly secured through an-insulating materialto a cam follower or element77. This element 77 is displaced to the sideof the turret a distance-.suicientto cscape engagement by the package,in this case the bottleB, but is adapted tobe yengaged byvftheprojectingends'78 (Figs. 2, 4, and l0) of the shoes 170. .Because of: thisengagement, when the turret rotates,.vth ei plate 70 moves the camelement 77 radially outwardly from the turret and of course moves theshoe 76 out of engagement with the package just sealed. As the nextpackage to be sealed reaches the third station, however, the cam element77 enters the space between the opposed edges of plates 70 and allowsthe heating shoe 76 to press against the overlapped wrapper edges,thereby sealing the wrapper along the side of the package. As statedpreviously, the shoe 76 may extend continuously along the overlappededges or it may extend along only one or more portions of suchoverlapped edges.

As the turret rotates from the heat-sealing station, the follower roll62 descends from the rise 66a of the cam 66 so that the folding plates79 are moved back out of the way of the article in the recess defined byslots 41. At one of the subsequent stations, such as at station #7, thethus side-sealed package is discharged. A cam 38a fixed on thestationary shaft 33 causes the piston 42 to move outwardly into theposition shown in stations #8 and #1. This is effected as the foot ofpiston rod 43 passes over rise 38]: (Fig. 3).

End folding and sealing There is disposed, opposite the dischargestation of the turret, end-folding and sealing means and means forconveying the package into the folding and sealing means. The conveyingmeans also serves to discharge the package from the turret and leavesthe elements at this station of the turret in readiness to proceed tothe article-receiving station (station #1).

The conveying means comprises a pair of belts 79 and 79a, each of whichis mounted upon suitable rollers and pulleys 80, 81, $2 and 83 for belt79 and pulleys 80a, 81a, 82a, and 83a for belt 79a. One of the pulleysin each set, such as 81 and 81a, may be driven intermittently orcontinuously in conventional manner as will be described hereinbelow.They are driven so that the immediately opposed reaches proceed in thesame direction away from the discharging station of the turret. Adjacenteach inner course of these belts and spaced between the inner and outercourses thereof, there is provided a stationary upright supporting plate34 which extends generally horizontally in the direction of its lengthbut has at the right end as viewed in Figure S a transverse uprightcross-piece. Shafts 85, 86, 87, 88, and 192 extend between theextremities of the cross-pieces of the supporting plates 84. Horizontalplates 89 and 90 also extend between crosspieces of the plates 84 andrigidly interconnect them. The plates 89 and 90 support an upper folderplate 91 and a lower folder plate 92 by suitable brackets 93.Preferably, the folder plates 91 and 92 are gently curved at their endsto a central point as shown in Figure 7.

Shafts 87 and 8S carry idler gears 94 and shafts 85 and 56 carry drivinggears 95, both the idlers 94 and the driven gears 95 engaging rack gearteeth on the rods 96 which are slidably mounted in suitable grooves orguideways in plates 39 and 90. The right ends of rods 96, as viewed inFigure 8, have opposed projecting prongs 96a which are recessed at theirtermini as at 96b. The horizontal surfaces of the recess serve to foldthe wrapper end against the end surface of the article, in this casebottle B, when the vertical surfaces of the recess are being broughtinto engagement with the ends of the article during the stroke of racks96 to the left as viewed in Figs. 7 and 8 for the purpose of dischargingthe article from the turret and transferring it into the nip of theconveyor belts 79 and 79a. The gears 95 are oscillatably driven by meanshereinbelow described in order to produce the reciprocating action ofthe rods 96.

As the package is about to leave the top and bottom folder plates 91 and92, it enters between the inwardly extending edges of a pair of plates97 and an opposed pair of plates 98, one of each pair being above andthe other of each pair being below the bottle (see Fig. 9). Near theentrance to these plates, the upper plate 98 has the 6 curved edge 98awhich extends over the top of the back end of the upper folder plate 91,the corresponding plate 9S at the bottom being disposed under the folderplate 92 and having similar curvature. These edges 98a are curved so asto gradually fold one side of the outwardly projecting end of thewrapper against each end of the article and the curved edges 97a of theopposite folder plates 97 fold the other sides of the wrapper endsagainst those previously folded by the edges 98a. After the curved edges98a and 97a are passed, the inwardly extending edges of these oppositefolding plates follow a straight line indicated at 99 (Fig. 7) and asshown, in Figure 9 particularly, the edges 99 overlap a marginal portionof the folded wrapper ends to hold them against the ends of the articleor bottle B. The folding plates 97 and 98 may be integrally joined withthe vertically extending plates 190 and 101 respectively (see Fig. 9) toprovide channelshaped guides. It should be noted that the inner endsalong line 99 of the plates 97 and 98 project only partially over theend surfaces of the wrapped article so as to keep the folded layers ofthe wrapper against the ends of the article without completely coveringthe ends of the article, the purpose being to leave an intermediate areaexposed so that it is adapted to be engaged by the heat-sealing elementsfor sealing the ends as will be described hereinbelow.

End sealing means At their left ends, as viewed in Figure 7, the plates84 are rigidly secured by elements 102 to parallel supporting plates103. Between each adjacent pair of plates 84 and 103, there is provideda slide block 104 which is provided with grooves 105 and 106 on oppositesides or surfaces thereof. These grooves are adapted to receive rollers107 and 103 rotatably mounted on stub shafts 109 and 110 which aresecured in plates 103 and 84 respectively. Grooves 10S and 106 extendlongitudinally of each slide block 104. Each slide block 104 is providedwith a pair of upstanding rods or posts 111 and a pair of downwardlyextending rods or posts 112 rigidly fixed to the slide block.

The four upright posts 111 extend through bores in a plate 113 to whichthere is secured a heat-sealing block 114, such as by bolts or capscrews 11S. The plate 113 may be insulated from the heat-sealing shoe114 by providing washers of insulating material 117 and 118 and bores116 much larger than the screw shanks. Between adjacent pairs of washers118, a heat-dissipating lin 119 may also be provided to assist inprotecting plate 113 from excessive transfer of heat from the shoe 114.Plate 113 is slidable vertically on the rods 111 and rests of its ownweight on the rollers 120 carried at the upper ends of verticalrack-toothed rods 121 (four being provided) which extend downwardlythrough suitable bores in the stationary plates 193, two racks 121extending into each plate 103.

Gears 122 are mounted in recesses in the plates 103 (see Figs. 7 and 8)and engage the rack-toothed surface of rods 121 as well as therack-toothed surface of similar downwardly extending rods 123 which havelower rollers 12d engaging a lower plate 125 which is slidably mountedon the four downwardly extending rods or posts 112. Springs 126 bearingagainst enlarged lower termini or feet 127 of the rods 112 urge theplate 125 upwardly against the rollers 124. The lower heat-sealing shoe128 is mounted on plate 12S in a manner similar to that by which shoe114 is mounted on plate 113. The shoes 114 and 12S may be heated in anysuitable fashion, such as by an electrical heating coil.

Cover plates 129 are secured to plates 103 to retain the gears 122 andthe rack rods 121 and 123 in their recesses and slots respectively. Thegears 122 are rotatably mounted on shafts 130 and have stub shafts 131secured eccentrically therein and projecting out through a suitable slot132 in the cover plate 129. A link 133 interconnects the stub shafts 131on the pair of gears in each of plates 103. Levers 134 pivotally mountedon stub shafts 135 which are fixed in the plates 103 are connected toeachlever 133 at a point midway between the shafts 131. This connectionlmay be by means of a stub shaft 136 extending through the upper end ofthe lever and fixedl inthe link v133. The levers 134 at their lower endsare provided with cam follower rolls 137 which bear against the rotatingcams 138 mounted on a common shaft 139 which is driven. eitherintermittently or continuously by any suitable means, such as thatdescribed hereinbelow. Springs 134a are connected between levers 134 andloose collars 134b on shaft 139 and urge the followers 137- on levers134 against cams 138.

A yoke 140 is iixedly secured to the pair of posts 111 at the right asviewed in Figures 7 and 8 and at an intermediate point it is secured toa link 141 by means of a pin 1'42. This link at the other end is securedto the upper rack rods 96 by a pin\143. The rods or posts 112 areconnected together by a similar yoke 140 and link 141 to lower rods 96so that when the rods 96 are reciprocated, this reciprocatory motion istransmitted to the heat-sealing shoes 114 and 128 through the posts 111and 112 and slide blocks 104. During the stroke to the left, aslviewedinv Figures 7 andv 8, of the sealing shoes 114 and 128, the cams 138 aredriven in timed relationship so that the shoes 114 and 128 are pressedagainst the ends of the package being conveyed by the belts 79 and 79a.At the end ofthe stroke, the cams 138 remove the shoes 114 and 128 fromthe ends of the package so that they are not in contact during thestroke of the shoes to the right. At the end of the stroke to the right,cams 138 again press the heat-sealing shoes against the ends of thepackages.

Driving means There is specifically shown means for intermittentlydriving the turret through arcuate steps which correspond to the anglebetween the eight adjacent stations on the turret. While the turret isstationary, the pamphlet feed rolls 7 and 8, the driving shaft 15 forthe pamphlet feeding belt, the pulleys 81 and 81a for driving thearticle feeding belts 79 and 79a, the gears 95, and the cams 138 aredriven through an intermittent step. Vice versa, when the latterelements (7, 8, 15, etc.) are stationary between steps, the turret isrotated through one of its steps. The wrapper feed rolls 26 and 27 andthe pulleys 6 for driving the belts 3 and 4 may be driven continuouslyat a constant rate. The plunger 30 and the knife 28 are reciprocatedforwardly and then back through a single cycle by solenoids 32 and 145respectively (Fig. 4), each of which is connected in series with anormally open switch disposed along the path of one of the belts 9 andcomprising a stationary contact element 37 and a spring contact element37a (Fig. 3). The solenoids may be in parallel or in series with eachother but are in series with the switch 37, 37a and a source of electricenergy 36. Normally, contact 37a is open but it is adapted to be closedby each of the projecting lugs 12 near the end of the stroke of thepamphlet feeding belts 9. Closure by a lug 12 energizes the solenoids 32and 145 causing the plunger 30 to push the article and pamphlet into therecess provided by slots 41 at the receiving station of the turret.Simultaneously, the knife 2S is reciprocated to cut the wrapper. This iseffected by the attached rod 1:46 which passes through suitablestationary guides 147 and 148` and is normally urged to the right (asviewed in Fig. 4) by the spring 149 bearing between stationary guide 147and the collar 150 secured to the rod 146. The rod 146 terminates in anenlarged core or armature 146a-which is actuated by the solenoid 145.The switch 37, 37a is so disposed' that each projection 12 passes justbeyond the switch atthe end of each intermittent step of the belts 9 sothat plunger 38 and knife 28 are retracted before the turret starts torotate. When the pamphlet feeding means is omitted, lateral projectionsdisposed at 8 spaced intervals on belt 3 or belt 4 may be used toactuate switch 37, 37a.

The turret is rigidly secured to the hub of a bevel gear (Fig. l0) whichis rotatable on the shaft 38. This gear 155 is driven by motor 156through a reducer 157, the output shaft 158 of which is suitablysupported for rotation on its axis and carries a bevel gear 159 and thepinwheel 160 of a Geneva intermittent gear. This pin gear 160 cooperateswith the slotted star wheel 161 of the Geneva. gear which is fixed uponthe shaft 162 which is suitably supported for rotation on its axis andcarries secured fixedly thereto a bevel gear 163 in mesh with the gear155. The Geneva gear and ratio between gears 163 and 155 are selected torotate the turret through steps of la the revolution.

In order to provide alternate intermittent motion between the turret andthe steps of the other mechanisms mentioned hereinabove, the constantlydriven shaft 158 also drives another Geneva mechanism comprising apinwheel 164 and the grooved star wheel 165 through a bevel gear 166which is secured to the shaft 167 mounted for rotation on its axis andhaving the pinwheel 164 rigidly fastened thereto. The grooved star wheelis iixedly secured on shaft 168 which is suitably supported for rotationon its axis and carries a sprocket 169 which operates a chain 170 whichin turn drives a sprocket 171 fixed on a shaft 172 which extends througha bearing 173 and carries xedly secured thereto the pulley 81 whichdrives belt 79. The Geneva gears and the ratio between sprockets 169 and171 are selected to rotate shaft 172 through half a revolution at eachstep which is effected while the turret is stationary assuming gears 159and 166 to have the same diameter and number of teeth, and both Genevagears to provide two intermittent steps and two still stages, all ofequal duration, in a single revolution of shaft 158, the ratio of 169 to171 may be 1:2 (diameter).

Shaft 172 also is provided with a sprocket 174 which drives a chain 175and a sprocket 176 iixedly secured on a shaft 177 which is supported forrotation on its axis and carries xed thereon a gear 178 which mesheswith gear 179 carried on shaft 180 on which is rigidly secured thepulley 81a associated with belt 79a. The ratios between sprockets 174and 176 and between gears 178 and 179 are chosen to provide the samespeed on pulley 81a as on pulley 81.

Shaft 172 also carries a sprocket 181 which drives a chain 182 which inturn drives sprocket 152 mounted on shaft 15 suitably-supported forrotation on its axis. Shaft 15 extends through the pulley 11 and carriestherebeneath a sprocket 183 which drives a chain 184 which in turndrives a sprocket 185 lixed on shaft 186 which is suitably mounted forrotation on its axis and carries fixed thereon the pamphlet feed roll 7.

Shaft is suitably mounted for rotation on its axis and extends belowpulley 81a and carries at its lower end a bevel gear which meshes with abevel gear 186 mounted on a shaft 186a for rotation therewith about theaxis of the shaft. Gear 186 is one-half the diameter of gear 185 and isprovided on one side with an eccentric crank pin 187 connected by a link190 with an eccentric crank pin 188 on a disk 189 xedly secured on shaft86 on which is fixed the lower gear 95. The throw of crank pin 187 isless than that of crank pin 188 so that a complete revolution of gear186 is converted into a forward and return oscillation of disk 189.Shaft 86 also carries a gear 200 which meshes with the gear 201 which ismounted on a shaft 192 which carries xedly thereon a sprocket 193 whichdrives a chain 194 for dividing the sprocket 195 iixedly secured onshaft 85. A sprocket 196 is secured to the shaft 186e and drives a chain197 which drives the sprocket 198 iixedly secured on the shaft 139 whichis suitably supported for rotation on its axis and carries thecarns`138.

9 General sequence of operations With the driving connections asdescribed hereinabove, the article to be wrapped is fed to the receivingstation of the turret between belts 3 and 4, and a pamphlet is fed inintermittent steps by belts 9 into proximity with the article. A wrappersheet is fed downwardly between the article and receiving station of theturret. Near the end of the pamphlet feeding step, a projection 12 onthe belts 9 closes the switch comprising contacts 37 and 37a whichenergizes solenoids 32 and 145 and thereby causes the plunger 30 to pushthe pamphlet, article and wrapper into the recess at the receivingstation of the turret, the knife 28 being simultaneously actuated to cutthe wrapper from the sheet continuously fed by rolls 26 and 27, Theplunger 30 and knife 28 are retracted to their inactive positions shownin Figures l and 3 at the end of the intermittent stroke of the belts 9by virtue of the fact that the projection 12 thereon releases the springblade 37a to open the switch. Since the Geneva intermittent mechanismcomprising pinwheel 160 and star wheel 161 (which drives the turret) is90 out of phase with the intermittent mechanism comprising pinwheel 164and star wheel 165 for driving the other intermittently driven devicesincluding the belts 9 for feeding the pamphlet, the turret is stationarywhile the pamphlet is being fed to the receiving station and until afterthe article and pamphlet with the wrapper thereabout are pushed into therecess of the turret. After the article has been received in the recessof the turret, it is rotated through the successive stations shown, thecam 66 serving to actuate shoes 70 to overlap the projecting edges ofthe wrapper and to hold them overlapped until the heating and pressingis effected at station 3 by the sealing tongue or shoe 76. During theseoperations, the lugs 47 hold the article in position in the recesses inthe turret.

At station #7, the rods 96 are moved to the left from the normalstationary position shown in Figures 1 and 2, thereby folding a portionof the ends of the wrapper and transferring the article into the nip ofthe conveyor belts 7 9 and 79a which are driven intermittently insynchronism with the rods 96. The articles pass between the folderplates 91 and 92 and then into the guiding plates having the foldingedges 97a and 98a. As the articles with the ends of the wrappers foldedagainst the ends of the articles proceed within the channel-shapedguides 100 and 101, the edges 99 hold the folded ends of the Wrapperagainst the ends of the article and the heat-sealing shoes 114 and 128are urged into contact with the ends of the wrappers and seal them. Asstated hereinabove, the shoes 114 and 128 are brought into contact withthe wrappers at the beginning of the forward stroke and the shoes 114and 128 are moved simultaneously with the articles at the same speed andin the same direction during this stroke after which the shoes areelevated and returned to their initial position while out of contactwith the articles. The articles thus wrapped and sealed proceed throughthe passageway between belts 79 and 79a and may be sent to the nextstage such as packaging.

The turret may be used for side sealing articles proceeding from anysuitable feeding means including other types of feeding means than thebelts 3 and 4 and furthermore, the turret may deliver or discharge theside-sealed articles to other Systems for completing the end wrapping orif it is not desired to fold and seal the ends of the wrapper, suchfolding and sealing means may be omitted. For example, the turret may beused for wrapping an article in a Wrapper which does not extend beyondthe ends of the article but is merely lapped around the side wallsthereof, the overlapped edges being then heat-sealed as by the shoe 76.In this case, the wrapper may correspond in width to the dimension ofthe article in the direction parallel to the axis of the turret or thewidth of the wrapper may be less than this dimension, if desired. Again,the end-folding and sealing unit to which the articles discharged by theturret proceed may be used for folding and sealing the ends of anyarticle provided with a sleevelike or tubular wrapper, whether seamlessor provided with a joint, such as the heat-sealed, overlapped jointproduced in the turret of this invention, and such an article may beprepared in any suitable way and by any suitable mechanism and deliveredto the end-sealing and folding unit of the present invention.

It is to be understood that changes and variations may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

l. Apparatus for wrapping articles comprising means for conveying anarticle through a path, a pair of rods reciprocable in a directiongenerally parallel to the direction of travel of the conveying means forfolding end portions of a Wrapper surrounding the lateral surfaces ofthe article, means for reciprocating the rods, each of said rods havinga lateral extension projecting toward that of the other and having arecess adapted to fit over an end corner of the article whereby tosimultaneously fold an end portion of the wrapper against the end of thearticle and to transfer the article to the conveying means during theforward stroke of the reciprocation of the rods, said portions extendingendwise from the article and transversely of the path, guide means alongthe path beyond the folding means having portions extending partiallyover the ends of the article for reducing the tendency of the foldedends to re-open, and means along the guide means for heating andpressing the folded ends to seal them.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the heating and pressingmeans comprises a pair of shoes on opposite sides of the path, and meansfor reciprocating the shoes into and out of engagement with Wrappedarticles and means for reciprocating the shoes in a direction generallyparallel to the path, the strokes of the last-mentioned reciprocationintervening between the strokes of the nextto-last mentionedreciprocation whereby the shoes move with the wrapped article when theyare in engagement therewith.

3. Apparatus for end-sealing an article disposed in a sleeve-likewrapper comprising a pair of endless belts for conveying an articletherebetween, a pair of channelshaped guide members extending around thebelts with their flanges engaging marginal portions of the ends of anarticle carried by the belt, the flanges adjacent the entrance betweenthe belts being curved to fold projecting ends of a wrapper against theends of the article.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 comprising stationary supportingmembers extending longitudinally of the guides on the sides thereof awayfrom the belts, a carriage comprising a pair of rigid members supportedby said supporting members for reciprocation relative thereto, heatedpressing shoes on opposite sides of the article each disposed betweenadjacent flanges of the guides, a plate secured to each shoe on its sideaway from the belts, a plurality of rigid posts projecting from oppositesides of each of the rigid members and extending through bores in theplates, reciprocable racks for reciprocating the plates relative to theposts, gear means for engaging the racks, and cam and lever means foroscillating the gear means.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 comprising a pair of plates fixedadjacent the entrance of the path for folding portions of the wrapperends in advance of the guides.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 comprising a pair of rodsreciprocable in a direction generally parallel to the direction oftravel of the belts, means for reciprocating the rods, each of said rodshaving a lateral extension projecting toward that of the other andhaving a recess adapted to fit over an end corner of the article wherebyto simultaneously fold an end portion of the wrapper against the end ofthe article and to transfer the article to the belts during the forwardstroke of the reciprocation of therods, and means'for connectingtheposts to the rods to effect iteciprocation of the carriage with therods.

References Cited in the le-Yof this fpatent UNITED STATES PATENTS .112Hopkins DecA 23, 1913 Kempf Aug. 15, 1916 VanBuren 'Feb.9, 1926 'MolinsDec. 9,1930 Coutos et l Mar. 13, 1934 Beutel June v26, 1934 -CollinsMar. 24, 1936 Hulin Apr. v14, 1936 Fereuci JuneS, 1937

1. APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES COMPRISING MEANS FOR CONVEYING AN ARTICLE THROUGH A PATH, A PAIR OF RODS RECIPROCABLE IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE CONVEYING MEANS FOR FOLDING END PORTIONS OF A WRAPPER SURROUNDING THE LATERAL SURFACES OF THE ARTICLE, MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING THE RODS, EACH OF SAID RODS HAVING A LATERAL EXTENSION PROJECTING TOWARD THAT OF THE OTHER AND HAVING A RECESS ADAPTED TO FIT OVER AN END CORNER OF THE ARTICLE WHEREBY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY FOLD AN END PORTION OF THE WRAPPER AGAINST THE END OF THE ARTICLE AND TO TRANSFER THE ARTICLE TO THE CONVEYING MEANS DURING THE FORWARD STROKE OF THE RECIPROCATION OF THE RODS, SAID PORTIONS EXTENDING ENDWISE FROM THE ARTICLE AND TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH, GUIDE MEANS ALONG THE PATH BEYOND THE FOLDING MEANS HAVING PORTIONS EXTENDING PARTIALLY OVER THE ENDS OF THE ARTICLE FOR REDUCING THE TENDENCY OFF TH FOLDED ENDS TO RE-OPEN, AND MEANS ALONG THE GUIDE MEANS FOR HEATING AND PRESSING THE FOLDED ENDS TO SEAL THEM. 